Gripping member for billet surfacing machines and the like



E. W. HAECKLER ETAL GRIPFING MEMBER FOR BILLET SURFACING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Aug. 17, 1943.

Filed Sept. 25, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ALTER MOVLE,

Aug? 1943* I E. w. HAECKLER ET AL 2,326,778

GRIPPING MEMBER FOR BILLET SURFACING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 25, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z5- I g 55 27 HI\\ IIII Fig.4. 25

EDWAPDME/ ZZ- ZZER anoM/Z; TE MOYLE,

Patented Aug. 17, 1943 GRIPPING MEMBER FOR BILLET SURFAC- ING MACHINES ANDTHE LIKE Edward W. Haeckler, McKeesport, and Walter Moyle, Duquesne, Ia.

Application September 25, 1942, Serial No. 459,722

9 Claims.

This invention relates to billet surfacing machines and the like and particularly to an improved member fcr gripping the billet or workpiece in such machines.

A machine of the type with which the improved gripping member of the present invention is adapted to be incorporated is shown in the United States Letters Patent to L. A. Reis, No. 1,922,980, dated August 15, 1933. Such a machine of the type disclosed therein comprises generally a rotary cutter head having a plurality of cutting tools carried thereby. The billet or workpiece. is adapted to be disposed in a central opening arranged through the cutter head which is arranged concentrically around the billet or workpiece with the tools carried thereby adapted to peel or cut the surface of the cylindrical billets so as to remove surface defects and imperfections therefrom so that the same are conditioned for future operations thereon. In such a surfacing machine there is provided mechanism for feeding the billets one at a time into the same and mechanism for grasping a billet which has been presented and advancing it in .the direction of and through the rotary cutter. The latter mechanism continues to advance and to force the billet through the machine and cutter until a substantial portion thereof has passed therethrough. Additional mechanism on the opposite side of the cutter is then adapted to grasp the surfaced end of the billet and to exert a pulling action thereon so as to move the unsurfaced portion of the billet through the cutter after the first-mentioned grasping mechanism has been released.

In the mechanism for grasping the billet and advancing the same into the machine through the rotary cutter head, there is generally provided releasable jaw-like grippersor adaptors, usually two in number, which securely grip the billet or bar so as to force it through the cutter during the cutting action. Likewise there is provided a similar set of releasable grippers or adaptors on the opposite side of the cutter or at the discharge end of the machine for securely gripping the billet for pulling it therethrough after the first-mentioned jaws have been released from gripping the billet. There usually is provided on the grippers or adaptors a threepoint bearing or gripping of the billet by means of gripping steel members or jaws which are removably mounted in the adaptors or grippers and have a serrated or beveled gripping surface. There is usually two gripping members or jaws .lower gripper or adaptor. It is to these gripping steel members or jaws that the present invention relates.

For various reasons it is necessary to remove the gripping members or jaws from their positions in the adaptors or grippers especially in order to replace the gripping members with new ones after the serrated gripping surface of the gripping members being used has worn away. Heretofore, various means have been suggested and used for assembling and maintaining the gripping members or jaws in position in the grippers or adaptors. Usually such means of assembling the gripping member therein was complicated and required the dismantling of the entire gripper mechanism to remove the gripping members therefrom and to replace them which,

of course, was unsatisfactory in that such proceclure was tedious and involved an expenditure of considerable time and labor. Furthermore, oftentimes these gripping members were assembled in the grippers or adaptors in such a manner that the workpiece or billet was not properly grasped thereby and slippage of the vbillet relative to the gripping members often occurred which, of course, was undesirable. In other means of assembling an excessive number of parts were used which was'expensive as' Well r as unsatisfactory.

Accordingly, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved grip-, ping member for billet surfacing machines and the like which is simple and inexpensive in its construction and use and at the same time a gripping member which will efliciently'and effectively grasp and securely hold the billet or workpiece.

It is another object of the invention to' provide an improved gripping member for billet surfacing machines and the like which requires a minimum number of parts for assembling the same therein, and a gripping member which can be easily and quickly assembled in or removed from its position in the machine in a minimum amount of time. a

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved gripping member for billet surfacing machines and the like and an improved means for mounting the gripping members therein, whereby the gripping members will tend to be forced and locked securely into their assembled positions by'the billet or workpiece during the operation of the machine.

Various other objects and advantages of this in the upper adaptor or gripper and one in the invention will become more apparent during the course of the following specification and will be particularly pointed out in. the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown for the purpose of illustration an embodiment which our invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the discharge side of a -billet surfacing machine showing the billet gripping mechanism thereof and with which the improved gripping member of my invention is shown incorporated;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the improved gripping member or jaw of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a, sectional view taken on line III-III of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line IVIV of Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1, for the purpose of illustration, the gripping mechanism on the discharge or delivery side of a conventional billet surfacing machine of the type as disclosed in the hereinbefore-mentioned patent. The gripping mechanism on both the entering side and the discharge side .of a billet surfacing machine differ somewhat in construction and arrangement but the gripping principle is substantially the same and only the discharge end of the machine is shown herein with which the improved gripping members of the present invention are shown incorporated. Such gripping mechanism, as shown in Figure 1, comprises generally a base 2 upon which there is arranged a lower gripper or adaptor 3 which is mounted on a movable wedge member 4, In order to actuate the adaptor 3 together with the wedge 4, so as to move the gripper or adaptor to a gripping position on to its retracted position there is connected to the wedge a piston rod 5 which is actuated by means of a pneumatic cylinder (not shown).

Directly above the lower gripper or adaptor 3 there is arranged on the base 2 a movable head or housing 6 which is pivotaily supported on the base of the machine by means of a pin 1. There is mountedin the head or housing 6, an upper gripper or adaptor 8 which is pivotally connected to the head bymeans of a pin 9. There is carried by thehead 6 adjacent the top of the gripper 8, a bolt-like member III which extends through the housing or head 6. The outer end of the bolt-like member I0 is threaded as at I2 and there is arranged thereon, a pair of lock nut I3. The inner end of the bolt-like\member I0 is pivotally connected to the adaptor 8 as at H. On either side of the wall of the housing 6 through which the bolt-like member It! extends, there is disposed a pair of opposing coil springs l5. It will be understood that it is the purpose of such arrangement of the upper gripper or adaptor 8 and the parts associated therewith to permit the same to pivot about the pin 9 .so as to be aligned with the billet or workpiece B in a well-known manner.

There is rotatably mounted on the upp r end of the head 6, a roller I6 which is adapted to cooperate with and bear against the inclined side of a vertically arranged wedge member 11. The wedge member I1 is connected to a piston rod l8 which is adapted to be actuated in a vertical 'plane by means of another pneumatic cylinder (not shown). The opposite side of the wedge I1 bears against the wall H! which is carried by an upwardly extending portion of the base 2 so as to move the roller I 6 together with the head 8' about the pivotal connection 1 to a clamping orgripping position. There is also arranged on the top of the head 6 preferably a cable 20 which is connected to the upper end of the head as at 2| preferably through a coil spring 22. On the free end of the cable 20 there is arranged a counterweight (not shown) which is adapted to maintain the roller IS in contact with the wedge I? at all times so as to move the head 6' about the pivotal connection 1 in order to release the gripping action upon upward movement of the wedge l1.

In the upper gripper or adaptor 8 there is arranged preferably two gripping members 23 and in the lower gripper or adaptor 3 there is arranged only one gripping member 23. It will be understood that these gripping members are identical in construction and it is to such gripping members that the present invention relates. It will be understood that both the lower adaptor 3 and the upper adaptor 8 recede to release the grip on the billet or workpiece so that the same may be discharged from the machine.

The gripping member, according to the present invention, as is more fully shown in Figures 2 through 4 of the drawings, comprises a substantially rectangularly shaped block-like member 24 having a serrated gripping surface 25 arranged on the top or gripping surface thereof for securely gripping the billet or workpiece B. The side walls of the block-like member 24 which extend parallel to the serrations of the gripping surface are slightly tapered as at 26 from one end of the block-like member to the opposite end thereof for a purpose hereinafter to be described. On the bottom side of the block-like member there is positioned preferably a plate-like member 21 with the same being greater in width than the block-like member 24 so as to provide a flange 28 to either side of the block-like member and which extends parallel to the side walls of the block-like member and the serrations on the gripping surface. The top side of the plate-like member preferably has substantially the same dimensions as the bottom of the block-like mem- -ber 24 and the outer edges of the flange portions 28 are preferably beveled as at 29 so that the bottom of the plate-like member 21 has a greater width than the top side thereof so as to provide the flange portion 28 as has been described. The beveled sides 29 of the plate 21 are also slightly tapered so as to conform to the taper of the side walls of the block-like member 24. There is arranged centrally of the block-like member 24 and-plate-like member 21 preferably a tongue and groove arrangement 30 for maintaining the block-like member and the plate in alignment with each other. There is arranged through an aperture 3| centrally of the plate-like member 21 preferably a cap screw 32 which extends into a threaded hole in the bottom of the block-like member 24 for holding the plate and block securely in engagement with each other. Byproviding a gripping member consisting of two parts as in the present instance, compensation for wear of the gripping surface can be made by placing flat shims of suitable thickness between the two component parts, namely the plate-like member 21 and the block-like member 24, and tightening the cap screw 82.

In the upper adaptor or gripper 8 there is arranged along the inner face thereof a pair of spaced apart slots or openings 33 which extend substantially parallel to the axis of the workpiece or billetB adapted to be disposed in the machine. Likewise in the lower adaptor 3 there of the slots 33 are slightly tapered so as to conform substantially to the taper on the side walls 26 of the block 24 and the beveled side walls 29 of the plate 21. It will be understood that the slots 33 taper inwardly toward the entering side of the machine and the rotary cutter head thereof,

The gripping members of the present invention are assembled in the machine in the followin manner. After the block-like member 24 and the plate-like member 21 have been assembled and secured together by means of the cap screw 32 so as to provide a gripping member or unit, a single unit is mounted in eachof the slots 33 in the upper adaptor 8 and slot 33 in the lower adaptor 3 by sliding the same into the slots from the outer or discharge end of the machine as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. In other words, the small end of the taper of the gripping member 23 is inserted in the slot 33 and is forced into position there so that the tapered sides of the block-like member cooperate with the tapered side walls of the slot. As the gripper members 23 are moved into the slots 33 it will be seen that they tend to tighten due to the taper of the sides of the gripping member and the slots, thereby providing a wedging action so as to lock the gripping members securely in position therein. It will be seen that when the gripping members 23 grip the billet or'workpiece B, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, and the billet or workpiece is pulled through the machine and the rotary cutter thereby, the gripping members will tend to be tightened and move to a locked position in the slots 33 due to these tapered sides. In order to remove the .gripping members 23 from their position in the slots 33 it is necessary only to tap the gripping members on the inner side of the adaptors and it will be seen that they may be readily removed from their position in the. adaptors after they are loosened. As the result of my invention it will be seen that there is provided an improved gripping member which can be easily and quickly assembled in and removed from the adaptors or grippers of a billet surfacing machine and at the same time gripping members which may {be quickly and conveniently replaced without dismantling any part of the mechanism of the billet surfacing machine.

While we have shown and described one specific embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purpose of illustration and description and that various other forms may be devised within the scope of our invention, as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, a plurality of members for gripping the workpiece adapted to be disposed therein, means for supporting said gripping members, each of said gripping members consisting of a substantially rectangular-shaped block-like member having a serrated surface arranged on the gripping side thereof, and a flange portion extending to each side of said block-like member throughout the conforming substantially to the cross section of said gripping members and in which one of said gripping members is adapted to be disposed with the serrations 'thereof arranged substantially parallel to the axis of the workpiece which they are adapted to grip.

2. In a machine of the ,class. described, a plurality of members for gripping the workpiece adapted to be disposed therein, means for supporting said gripping members, each of said gripping members consisting of a substantially rectangular-shaped block-like member having a serrated surface arranged on the gripping side thereof, and a flange portion extending to each side of said block-like member throughout the length thereof on the side opposite that from said serrations with the flanges disposed substantially parallel thereto, the sides of said block-like member parallel to said serrations being slightly tapered from one. end thereof to the opposite end, said supporting means having a plurality of slots arranged therein substantially parallel to the axis of the workpiece and to the travel of the same through the machine with each of said slots having a cross section conforming substantially to the cross section of said gripping members and tapered side walls corresponding to the taper on the sides of said block-like members with one of said gripping members adapted to be disposed in each of said slots so that the serrations thereof are arranged substantially parallel to the axis of the workpiece which they are adapted to grip, whereby the gripping members will tend to tighten in the slots as the workpiece is forced through the beveled edge portion.

4. In a machine of the class described, a plurality of members for gripping the workpiece adapted to be disposed therein, means for supporting said gripping members, each of said gripping members consisting'of a substantially rectangular-shaped block-like member having a.

serrated surface arranged on the gripping side thereof, a plate-like member arranged on the side of said block-like member opposite: that from said serrations, said plate-like member having a width greater than that of said blocklike member so as to provide a flange portion,

extending throughout the length thereof and to each side thereof substantially parallel to said serrations, and means for holding .said plate-' like member securely in engagement with said block-like member, the sides of said block-like member parallel to said serrations and said flange portions being slightly tapered from one end thereof to the opposite end, said supporting means having a plurality of slots arranged therein substantially parallel to the axis of the work-.

piece and to the travel of the same through the machine with each of said slots having a cross section conforming substantially to the ,cross section of said gripping members and tapered side walls corresponding to the taper on the sides of said block-like members with one of said gripping members adapted to be disposed in each of said slots so that the serrations thereof are arranged substantially parallel to the axis of the workpiece which they are adapted to grip, I

block-like member having a serrated surface arranged on the gripping side thereof, and a flange' portion extending to each side of said block-like member throughout the length thereof on the side opposite that from said serrations, said flange portions disposed substantially parallel to the sides of said block-like member and said serrations.

6. A gripping member of the class described comprising a substantially rectangular-shaped block-like member having a serrated surface arranged on the gripping side thereof, the side walls of said block-like member parallel to said serrations being slightly tapered from one end thereof-to the opposite end, and a flange portion extending to, each side of said block-like member throughout the length thereof on the side opposite that from said serrations, said flange portions disposed substantially parallel to the sides of said block-like member and said serrations.

in said block-like member. I

7. A gripping member of the class described comprising a substantially rectangular-shaped, block-like member having a serrated surface arranged on the gripping side thereof, the side walls of said block-like member parallel to said serrations being slightly tapered from one end thereof to the opposite end, a plate-like member arranged on the side opposite that from said serrations having a width greater than that of said block-likemember so as to provide a flange portion extending throughout the length thereof and to each side thereof substantially parallel to said serrations, and'means for holding said plate-like member securely in engagement with said block-like member.

8. A gripping member of the class described as defined in claim 7 wherein the flange portion arranged along the edges of the plate-like member to each side of the block-like member consists of a beveled edge portion arranged along the edges of the plate-like member.

9. A gripping member of the class described as defined in claim 7 wherein the means for holding the plate-like member securely in engagement with the block-like member consists of a screw arranged through the plate-like member.

and extending 'into a threaded hole arranged EDWARD W. HAECKLER. WALTER. MOYLE. 

